SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 6, 2024) – The Western New England men's basketball team used a consistent offensive flow and strong second half defense to soar past the Fighting Scots of Gordon College on Tuesday night from the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center, taking down Gordon by a final score of 105-68. WNE defeats Gordon for the second time this season and completes the season sweep.

Records:

• Western New England: 17-5, 12-2 CCC
• Gordon College: 5-17, 2-11 CCC

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears and Fighting Scots would go point-for-point in the first half, with both teams connecting on early hoops. Gavin Greene collected Western New England's first basket of the night on an assist from Mike Resnick to kick off WNE's explosive offensive night. Six quick points from the Golden Bears would give Western New England an early 6-2 lead, with Greene and Cody Pallazzesi collecting hoops. WNE would get their lead to five until seeing Justin Yu knock down a triple for Gordon to give the Fighting Scots a 12-11 lead. That would be the second and final lead of the night for the Fighting Scots, as Western New England would go on an 8-0 run to take a seven-point lead. Tim Restall would convert an and-one while Brian Geitner continued his brilliant shooting from deep, cashing in a three as WNE would lead 19-12 with 12:54 to play. By the 10:43 mark of the first half, Geitner would already have ten points on the board and a 29-20 lead for WNE. Gordon would get within four a handful of times as the game moved toward the end of the first half, though Western New England continued to respond with hoops. Andrew Byfield drilled two three-pointers in a row to give WNE a 42-31 lead, their first double-figure lead of the game with 6:17 to play in the half. WNE's lead got to 15 points when Cody Palazzesi converted an and-one opportunity, though Gordon would drop WNE's lead to 11 at the end of the half, as the Golden Bears led 52-41 at the break. The Golden Bears shot 64% from the field in the opening frame, shooting 6/12 from distance. Gordon shot just under 47% from the field and made 6/9 threes to stay in the game.

A hot start in the second half would see Western New England go on a 14-0 run to begin the half. Brian Geitner would record five early points on the run for WNE, while Palazzesi, Restall, and Greene would all record baskets for the Golden Bears as their lead would quickly extend to 25 points, leading 66-41. Gordon would not record a field goal in the second half until the 15:09 mark when Bryce Smith hit from three, though the Golden Bears would get those points back and then some as the duo of Greene and Restall would increase WNE's lead to 28. Matt Houde would help give Western New England a 34-point lead at the midway point of the second half, leading 84-50. The Golden Bears would maintain their big lead throughout the second half, putting away the Fighting Scots early in the half and not allowing Gordon to mount any sort of comeback in the CCC game. WNE's largest lead of the game was 40 points with 7:58 to play when Houde's jumper went down. Max Jones pushed Western New England over the century mark with a jump shot from inside the lane with 2:32 to play when Melvin Kolenovic and Evan Stewart would contribute for Western New England down the stretch, lifting the Golden Bears to a 105-68 victory over the Fighting Scots.

Inside the Lines:

• Brian Geitner again led Western New England in scoring, putting down 21 points on 6/11 shooting while also grabbing seven rebounds in the win.
• Tim Restall (16 pts.), Gavin Greene (14 pts.), and Matt Houde (11 pts.) would all finish the night in double figures.
• 13 Golden Bears recorded points on the night, while all 15 Golden Bears took at least one shot in the game.
• WNE outrebounded Gordon 46-26 and 15-8 on the offensive end.
• The Golden Bears had 58 bench points and 52 points in the paint.
• Andrew Byfield finished 3/4 from distance to lead WNE.
• The Golden Bears were 22/25 at the free throw line on the night.
• Gordon was led by Bryce Smit, who dropped 21 points in the loss.
• The 105 points are the most for WNE this season and the most as a team since the 2021–2022 season in a home game against Nichols, where WNE also sank 105 points.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears play a key CCC game at Endicott College on Saturday, February 10 at 3:00 pm. WNE is 4-11 in Beverly since 2006–2007.